A lot of time has passed since my last entry and my car's been through quite a lot during that same timespan. Here's a quick rundown of what's been going on. 
------- APR Fuel Pump Wow. That's the thought that crossed my mind during the initial run after installing the APR Fuel Pump. The engine absolutely just pulls and pulls. Boost readings stayed at a steady 20-23psi as the RPM and engine speed ramped up. Absolutely amazing. The torque band is amazing, pulling hard after 3000 RPM and not dropping off until close to 6. Boost drops a lot after the mid 5's but the engine is still climbing as the pump continues to send fuel to the engine. This is going to help a ton when exiting corners, as I can keep the RPMs high and still make full boost. Now finally I can give bigger cars a run for their money -- I'll have plenty of power to make past 100mph. I can't wait to have some dyno graphs to analyze. **Update: Just recently reflashed with an updated StageII software that supposedly extracts 14hp more out of the fuel pump. No documentation from APR to confirm; as always I'd like to see some data to back the claims. Car doesn't really feel that much different.. VF-Engineering Mounts From the second I sat in my car after installing the mounts, my car felt more solid. There's definitely more vibration through the frame of the car but it's mellow and rather soothing. Gripping the steering wheel yields the same sensation. Revving the engine no longer causes the engine to turn. Despite being an inline-setup, my engine would move a lot under heavy torque loads. The first time I dyno'd my car it was plain embarassing how much turn it was giving. Now the engine doesn't even move anymore. Engine mount and torque arm insert did a great job of reinforcing the drivetrain and the pendulum mount has done a great job of holding the exhaust in place. From head to toe, the car's drivetrain is just that much more solid. Thumbs up to polyurethane construction. **Update: Speaking of polyurethane suspension parts, I upgraded the exhaust bushing hanger from rubber to a polyurethane, a swap that has helped eliminate a lot of vertical and horizontal movement. There's still some wiggle left but there's little I can do when only one hanger arm is holding the exhaust to the rear of the car. I'll need do get a muffler shop reinforce if I want to eliminate it completely. Neuspeed P-Flo + CAI Extension Nothing hurts a turbo's performance more than heat soak. Simply stated, hot air is less dense than cold air. With a turbo spooling hotter air, less power can be made from the engine. The stock intake does a great job of boxing out hot air but it sits much too close to the engine bay for my liking. Instead of going RAM air, I decided to pipe in cooler air coming from the bottom of the engine bay, just behind the driverside fog housing. This allows me to pull in cooler air, where the filter element is situated as far from the engine and turbo as possible. With the CAI intake I've noticed driving temperatures within 5-10 degrees of outside temperature, 3-5 at higher speeds. These are readings coming from my MAS sensor and being directly read from my OBD II port. These reflect the same readings that the car's ECU sees so it's pretty darn accurate. As the weather gets warmer, there may be a need to get an intercooler but I'm planning to get that done along with my next mod project.  Intakes don't do much for my turbo setup in terms of increased power, but the turbo spools a lot faster now and the engine opens up in the higher RPMs. I'm literally addicted to the sound of my engine past 4k RPM. And the sound of the intake surging when I let off the throttle makes me giggle like an adolescent boy racer. It's not a BOV but it sounds menacing nonetheless. Debadged This one is simple -- it adds 100000 hp after removing the A3 and 2.0T badges on my truck hatch. LOL. Ok so I'm joking but what it does do is tidy up my rear. I'll be replacing it with something sooner or later but wanted to go with the shaved look for now.  Stoptech BBK - 328mm x 28mm + Axxis Brake Pads The big kahuna, the single most expensive mod to date: $1800 brake upgrade from Stoptech. A big step up from the 312mm rotors, I'm running Axxis performance brake pads with my Stoptech setup. Wow x2. I loved the fuel pump upgrade and I'm just as giddy about this BBK mod. My car absolutely bites when I step on the brakes. The car literally feels lighter. Not only is the rotor and caliper larger but ligther than my stock setup, having gone to an aluminum setup. Cross-drilled rotors help to cool the brakes when I heavy up on the brake pedal and makes tossing the car around that much more fun. I finally have braking power that matches my get-up power. This will allow me to brake later than before and much quicker. With the way the stock setup was fading after a hard canyon run, this mod was a no-brainer. Big thanks to Wheel Power down in Huntington Beach for setting me up. ------- That's about it in terms of any recent mods. I've got a bumper to repaint (replace even?) and maybe drop a pretty dollar on a full body kit -- choosing between S3 conversion, Oettinger, Vortex -- and possibly a big-turbo upgrade in the works. I want to spend some time enjoying my setup right now and realizing it's current potential. I'll see ya'll on the streets. Pictures and/or videos to follow.  | 
